Participation in water sports can expose the feet to sharp or otherwise harmful objects. For example, in a surfing environment, the beach may be encumbered with rocks, shells, and other sharp objects. In some cases, the sand can be hot and uncomfortable. Even after wading into the water, it is not uncommon for surfers to encounter coral or sharp rocks on the seabed.
It is therefore advisable for persons engaging in such watersports to wear some kind of foot protection, at least while walking on the beach or seabed. One approach to avoiding such dangers is to wear a type of thin shoe or boot, sometime referred to as “booties.” Such booties are typically made of neoprene, and have a bottom sole made of a harder rubber-like substance. In river rafting situations, it is common for the rafters to wear rafting sandals, which have a rubber-like sole and are attached to feet with nylon webbing and/or leather.
In a surfing environment, the surfer needs to walk down the beach to the water and then wade into the surf some distance before the water is deep enough to get on the board and start paddling. Once the water reaches a certain depth, the surfer gets on the board, typically on his belly, and starts paddling to get out to the area where the waves are breaking (sometimes referred to as a “line-up”). When a good wave approaches, the surfer must paddle the board vigorously for a short period back in the direction of the beach to give some speed to the board. At a critical point, as the board is lifted by the wave, the surfer stands up on the board to “catch” the wave.
Once standing, the surfer must maintain proper balance on the board, both forward and aft and side to side. It is helpful for the surfer to have bare feet during the surfing to have an intimate feel of the board and to be able to make fine adjustments to pressure by the feet and toes to various portions of the board. Booties or other footgear decrease the surfers intimate contact with the board and his sensitivity and control of the board. Rafting sandals would be considerably worse.
It would be desirable for a surfer to have some kind of footgear to protect his feet while walking down the beach to the water and while wading in the water up to the point of paddling. On the other hand, it would be desirable for the surfer to have bare feet while surfing to have maximum sensitivity to the board and be able to finely adjust pressure to various parts of the board with the feet and toes.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,839,529 (Levy) discloses sandals with reconfigurable straps to allow the sandals to be attached to the calves, thighs or arms, so that the sandals can be carried in a hands-free manner. These sandals are generally in the form of rafting sandals. While these sandals may be removed from the feet (so that they are bare) and carried on the body without having to hold them in the hands, they are not designed for surfing and would not work well in a surfing environment. For one thing, the straps would be difficult to reconfigure while paddling or sitting on a board. Secondly, because of their bulk and position, they may cause water resistance and hinder the surfer as he paddles vigorously to catch the wave. They may also interfere with the surfer's motion in the acrobatic balancing act of surfing. Finally, surfing is often viewed as an aesthetic and artistic sport, and the appearance of bulky sandals attached to various parts of the body would detract from this aesthetic aspect.
There remains a need for a type of footwear that would enable a surfer to walk on the beach and wade into the waves with the soles of his feet protected, and yet allow the surfer to have bare feet while surfing. Such footwear would preferably be easily converted from a walking orientation to a surfing orientation, and would provide little resistance to the vigorous paddling needed to catch the wave. Finally, they would preferably provide minimal detraction from desirable fluid motion or aesthetic artistry of surfing.